Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Leviticus 12

Leviticus 12:4 "and then she shall spend thirty three days more in becoming purified of her blood..."
5... "After which she shall spend sixty-six days in becoming purified of her blood."

Wow. At first reading, my blood boiled. How could God be punishing these women for something that was not totally in their control? If a woman laid with her husband and conceived, she was dirty after giving birth to a child? And 2/3 longer if the child was a girl?

So I had to do some research. I found this site (https://bible.org/seriespage/9-offending-god-clean-and-unclean-part-ii-leviticus-12-15 )which explained a bit more. Here is a quote
"you stop to think about it, most of the conditions which caused the state of uncleanness were those which resulted from the fall. All sickness and death is the result of the fall. Child-bearing is at least related to the curse. Sex was distorted and diminished by the fall, to the point where Adam and Eve were ashamed of their nakedness and fled from God.This first view that sex was “dirty” and unacceptable to God originated with man, as a result of the fall, not God. Thus, we can say that uncleanness was a condition resulting from the fall, from sin, and thus uncleanness also required a sin offering. As the Israelite offered up the sin offering due to uncleanness, he or she also acknowledged their sinful condition inherited from Adam."

They were born with sin because of the fall of Adam and Eve. And not until Jesus's death could we fully be cleansed of our sins. The blood and the small suffering a woman experiences during childbirth is nothing compared to the blood shed and suffering that Christ endured because of man. 

The Old Testament is hard to understand because we don't follow the same rules. But these rules governed and shaped our Christian history. So I am glad be struggling as I read, as it makes me want to learn more and research things.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Lack of Friends

Moving is hard. If you never have, it’s not something to take lightly. I haven’t moved nearly as many times as some people, but I have lived...